


Captain America: Yes; Steve Rogers: Not Recommended

by SilverTonguedSlytherin1



Series: Military!Tony [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Author Is Both Salty and Bitter and Loving It, Civil War Team Iron Man, Don't Like Don't Read, Gen, Military!Tony, Not Steve Friendly, Not Steve Rogers Friendly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:49:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24048472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverTonguedSlytherin1/pseuds/SilverTonguedSlytherin1
Summary: After the Battle of New York, Director Fury and Lieutenant Colonel Stark discuss the roster for the Avengers Initiative.
Series: Military!Tony [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1738261
Comments: 37
Kudos: 1144





	Captain America: Yes; Steve Rogers: Not Recommended

**Author's Note:**

> Just so we are clear, this fic is Team Tony, Not Steve Friendly, and CANON DIVERGENT. If you take issue with any or all of these things, please find another fic more to your liking. Comments are moderated, so even though I'll see your trolling/bashing, my readers won't.
> 
> I just want to say that I dedicate this fic to everyone has commented, bookmarked, or left kudos on "About the Education of Officers and Avengers." Y'all are amazing and wonderful and the reason my muses haven't shut up. :)

Tony looks at the proposed roster for the Avengers and raises his eyes to level Fury with a look. "There are six names here, and I'm unsure about four of them, Director," he says.

Fury is taken back, clearly not expecting that. "Really? Care to share why, Colonel?"

He lays the papers down on the table and sits just a touch straighter, "Of course. To start, surprisingly, I do approve of myself. Teams with Iron armor have shown a fifty-six percent increase in success rate and a nearly eighty percent decrease in civilian casualties. Normally, I would suggest an active-duty soldier, but since the Avengers will assemble only for the most extraordinary battles, doing so would be a waste. Also, we may run into trouble given the nature of the team, but my connections, both from my years of service and my position as majority shareholder of Stark Industries, will help ease any fears about vigilantes or SHIELD's involvement.

"Barton is easy to approve. A sharpshooter can only be a boon on a team such as the Avengers. He also has considerable skill in hand-to-hand combat, which is uncommon in snipers, so, yes, he is probably my first choice for that position. 

"Dr. Banner is a questionable choice. For various reasons, none of which I contest as being unreasonable, he has proven himself to be a flight risk. As such, his dependability is in question. While I do trust the Hulk in the field, he does cause considerable collateral damage. Therefore, Dr. Banner's fitness for a position within the Avengers Initiative is highly contestable. However, he has accepted a contract with Stark Industries, which I believe would serve as suitable conditions for him to work under as part of a probationary period to determine his suitability.

"Prince Thor is also questionable. While his sense of honor is great, and as such his promise to help defend Earth can likely be depended upon, there is the matter that he is the crown prince of a foreign realm. He will certainly have duties to perform on Asgard, and we have no way of ensuring that our agenda does not conflict with Asgard's. What would we do if Asgard chose to attack, especially if Thor was a cornerstone of our defense?

"No, Director. We can not afford to rely upon Prince Thor or anyone else whose primary loyalty lies to realms or worlds other than Earth. My advisement is that we include him as an auxillary member, to be used when and if he is available, but we build the team without the assumption of Prince Thor's assistance.

"In regards to Romanov, her skills are primarily geared towards infiltration and assasination. How is that helpful for a team such as the Avengers? Granted, her skills with hand-to-hand combat were useful, but there are multiple operatives with similar or even greater talent with it, and whose training is more suited to teamwork and open combat than individual assignments and black ops.

"Rogers is the largest issue. While it is hard to deny the good press and added morale that Captain America would bring, Steve Rogers is only a hindrance.

"If we look back to before the serum, he showed himself to be reckless and narcissistic. 

"After all, he may have said that it was about doing his bit, but he refused to perform vital tasks such as collecting scrap metal. He attempted to falsely enlist multiple times, and I don't need to tell you what a liability he would have been, Director. Nothing in his actions sense have proven a growth from these issues. After all, his first real mission involved him disobeying orders to save his best friend; the other four hundred survivors were a bonus to him. 

"Also, I know he did not complete Basic Training, and he certainly didn't complete Officer Training. Even if he had, everything has changed in terms of combat. And I'm not certain it's safe or fair to force him to study current military strategies and regulations while he's still integrating into the modern world."

"Yet you agree that Captain America would be a good addition."

"Yes, Captain America would be amazing, but let's be clear, Captain America is a propaganda piece. Anybody can be Captain America, and there are options which come with fewer issues."

"So what exactly is your official opinion, Col. Stark."

"To be blunt, Director, Captain America: yes, Steve Rogers: not recommended."

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if this exists in the same universe as "About the Education of Officers and Avengers," but I definitely see it occurring after "Genius. Billionaire. Soldier. Philanthropist."
> 
> In my larger military!Tony MCU rewrite, I see Tony as providing the military with /some/ Iron Man suits, similar to the War Machine. My view is that 1.) Lt. Col. Stark is still firmly entrenched in the system, and he doesn't have quite the same fear/hang-ups as canon!Tony. 2.) He /knows/ the fight he's in for, and he chooses to subvert this fight. So, he has provided one or two Iron Man suits per branch, coded /only/ to soldiers of his choosing. 
> 
> In regards to who would take Rogers' place, I mostly envision someone Tony and/or Rhodey served with; no, they likely wouldn't be Enhanced, but that hardly precludes admission to the Avengers (please see Rhodey, Tony, Romanov, Barton, Wilson, and Lang for details). However, part of me also envisions Logan (Civil to Vietnam).
> 
> Now, to be clear, I still think the original six would be part of the Avengers, but this conversation will hopefully lead to additions, and it would lead to the members being under closer scrutiny to determine if they needed to replaced/benched.


End file.
